Grandma Judy's House

Over spring break, the kids and I decided to go visit Grandma Judy. Quinn didn't have time off, but Clarissa didn't have preschool, so I thought we would have a lot more fun not stuck at our house for the whole week. We visited one of our good friends on one of the days, and unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures. Clarissa is always talking about her friend Aedan, and how much she misses them since they moved from here. They had such a fun time playing together. Clarissa keeps asking to go back to visit them, so hopefully soon.

One of the other days we went to a children's museum with Grandma. The kids had a really fun time, especially with the mirrors.

Sarah was an angel, and slept through it all.

After the museum, we went to lunch at McDonald's, and of course, the kids loved it. Clayton's favorite part was dipping his french fries in his caramel apple dip! Some kids have strange tastes.

Clarissa really wanted a cookie for lunch, so I suggested that she ask Grandma to make some with her.

They had such a fun time together, and Clarissa really enjoyed making cookies with Grandma.

She loved putting them in the cookie jar, and the best part was when she got to eat a couple. I appreciate the time Judy took to do this activity with Clarissa. I think Clarissa will remember it for a long time, she loves to help make cookies.

Clayton's favorite part about Grandma and Grandpa's house is their giant ball. We told Clayton that he had to wait until grandpa got home to play with it. He watched the garage door like a hawk, and as soon as grandpa walked in he followed Randy up to his office to get the ball. Clayton absolutely loves balls, and all he ever wants to do is play with them.

Children's Museum

About every 3 months Clarissa has a doctor visit with her endocrinologist. It's almost a two hour drive, so, to make it a little more fun, we go to lunch on the way home and to a children's museum. This time we stopped at some random cafe, and I can't even remember the name of it, but they had this giant rooster out front. The food was ok, but it was fun because most every one that came into the cafe while we were there were older people and either good friends or family of the owners, and it seemed like they went there very regularly, some probably every day.

Clayton and Clarissa wouldn't leave until they could go see the rooster, so we had to get a picture.

We then went to the museum, and had a ton of fun playing with water, making pizza's, being a doctor, harvesting grain, playing with a wind tunnel, painting, doing a puppet show, dancing, dressing up and putting on a play, dropping pennies in a wishing well, and much, much more.

Quinn and Clayton had a lot of fun playing with the trains together.

This is one of those peg things that you push on, and it forms a shape. Clarissa did her whole body, it was pretty fun to watch it form as she pused her body into it, especially the face. The kids had a ton of fun, although, I think Quinn had the most fun, he's a kid at heart.

Even though it was getting close to dinner time when we left the museum, we decided to finish off the fun day with a trip to the ice cream shop right next to the museum. This picture was taken of Clarissa two seconds after she said "mom, you have some ice cream on your face!" Quinn and I couldn't keep a straight face and had to take a picture of her ice cream beard.

They both loved climbing on and hanging on these posts. We had a really fun time with our family this day. We are happy that we can make a not so fun doctor's appointment trip into a fun and memorable day.

Clarissa Explains It All

Today I was talking to Clarissa about writing her letters and her name. She has improved a lot and I was so proud of her. It made me realize how fast she is growing up. I gave her a big hug and told her how proud I was of her, and then asked her this question:

Me: Can you stop growing up and just stay little forever?

Clarissa: No, I need to return to God!

I'm glad we have taught her well, and that as she progresses through this life, and grows older, she knows that she will someday return to live with God again. I'm glad she knows that, but I am just realizing how fleeting childhood is, and I'm trying to treasure the special times with her while she is young. As we continue on this journey in life, I hope she will always remember her end goal and always strive for that.

Clayton's potty training techniques need a few modifications, don't you think???

Something we're passionate about

Nearly a year ago, Clarissa was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  This past year has been quite a whirlwind as we've adjusted to life with shots, finger sticks, carb counting, food obsessions and strict schedules.  After the first week, I turned to Tiffany and I asked her if we would ever have a conversation again that didn't involve diabetes care and management.  Luckily, over the intervening months, things have gotten much easier.  It's still a big part of our lives, but we've found ways to let the other aspects of our lives creep back in. 


Now, almost a year out from the diagnosis, we are ready to give back.  We've benefitted so much from wonderful medical care and support staff that we can't imagine how we would have done it without.  Medical advancements in diabetes care and management in the past 25 years have made a huge impact on those who live with type 1 diabetes.  Clarissa still gets five shots a day (that's over 1800 a year), but we are able to manage her disease and provide a nearly normal lifestyle (we call it our "new normal").  We are optimistic that in Clarissa's lifetime, we will see further advancements and even a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.


That's why were walking with the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes on April 30th.  We made a family goal to raise $800 for diabetes research.    We've put together a website for our walk team, "Clarissa's Crew".  Please take a moment to visit our website and consider donating or joining our fundraising team.  One of the easiest ways to get involved is to pass the word along.  We'd be happy for anyone to post a link to our website on your blog and encourage your readers to donate.  Together we can make a difference in the lives of people with type 1 diabetes, like Clarissa.


www.clarissascrew.blogspot.com

Quinn's Birthday Celebration

Tonight we celebrated Quinn's birthday with a couple of friends. We had pizza, cake and ice cream.


A Bio-chemistry lab bench.

Quinn's favorite chocolate cake with a chocolate ganache, and chocolate dipped strawberries! A cake for chocolate lovers!

I wanted to decorate a fun cake for Quinn, so I surprised him with the lab bench. He knew I was making the chocolate cake, but was very surprised when I pulled out the other one. It was really fun to do this cake for him, the last time I actually decorated a cake for him was when we were dating.


Clarissa, Quinn, and Clayton.

I hope this video works of us singing to Quinn. I just love how the kids blew out the candles the second the song was over. At least Quinn got to blow out the last one.

Happy Birthday Quinn!

Happy Birthday to my St. Patrick!

I never have any good pictures of Quinn on my computer, so we'll just have to do without. I just wanted to wish my wonderful husband and best friend a Happy Birthday! I know I don't show enough appreciation for this man, but he truly has made my life wonderful. Our first date was a week before his 24th birthday, so I have been lucky enough to celebrate 8 birthdays with him so far. I'm grateful for birthdays to celebrate the life of those that mean so much to us. We aren't able to do too much celebrating today, so it'll continue on all weekend. Clarissa and Clayton are so excited to celebrate with him, and have been busy making cards and wrapping presents for their daddy all day today. They are so anxious for him to come home to celebrate a little with him tonight.

If you want to read a fun story about Quinn when he was a young kid, you can go to his mom's blog. Quinn never stops amazing me with his creativity, I think that's where Clarissa must get hers from, because it definitely isn't from me.

Really, a hair?

Who would have thought that a hair could cause so much trouble!

Last night I was making dinner, and Sarah was sitting in her swing. She was a little fussy, so I went to pick her up and hold her for a minute. I noticed that one of her toes looked a little strange, so I took a closer look. It looked like something was wrapped around it and it was a little red. I figured out that it was a hair, but I could get it off, and in the process, I made it bleed a little. I decided I better take her to convenient care since I couldn't get a hold of Quinn. I finally got through to him, and we met him in his parking lot, and he took one look and decided we should take her in.

Four Doctors and Nurses helped us at the convenient care and focused on her, and even kicked someone out of a room so they could help our little Sarah. They got some of the hair off, but were not confident that they got it all, so they sent us to the Emergency Room.

Since the other kids were starving, I took them off, and Quinn headed off to the ER with Sarah. They gave her a shot to help numb her foot, which she didn't like at all, of course. Quinn said he doesn't think the numbing really worked since she still screamed the whole time they worked on her foot. They got some more hair out, and thought they got it all, so they sent her home.

This morning it still looks exactly the same, and the swelling does not seem to have gone down. Her toe is about twice the normal size. We have a follow up appointment with our pediatrician today, so hopefully they be able to tell us wether or not it infected, or if there is still some hair around the toe. Hopefully it'll get better soon. Apparently this is not all that strange of a thing to happen, however, I had never heard of it before.



Sorry for the bloody picture of her toe, but it was hard to get it completely cleaned up. Plus, it's a little fuzzy, but she kept kicking her feet.

I'm not a great photographer, but here is a little smile from our sweet little Sarah.

Moral of the story: If you have infants and long hair, you better wear a hair net at all times!

Vote for Ellen

A good friend of ours from Boston, Ellen, has been nominated for the Best LDS Female Solo Blogger of 2010. I'd love it if you would vote for her. (links are at the end)

I'm sure all of the other blogs that have been nominated are all wonderful blogs, and I have only had a chance to glance at a couple of them. But I want to tell you why I love reading Ellen's blog.

1. She is a wonderful photographer. Some of her posts have no words, just beautiful photographs of the Boston area, and everywhere she visits.

2. She loves to bake. She is always sharing wonderful recipes and pictures of the yummy things that she bakes and shares with everyone.

3. She loves to quilt and sew. I wish I was a wonderful quilter like Ellen. She always seems to be working on a quilt or another sewing project. And 9 times out of 10, at least, it seems like she gives these creations aways.

4. She is adventurous. Ellen is always talking about her trips around the New England area and the new friends she makes on a weekend outing.

5. She is an amazing friend, and not just to long time friends, but to everyone she meets. I am so amazed at how many friends she has, and all that she does for them. She is such a selfless and loving person.

This list doesn't even put a dent in how amazing she is, but I don't have time to list everything, plus it's hard to describe such an amazing women in words, it just doesn't give her justice. I know many of my friends don't know Ellen, but take a look at her blog, and if you would like to, please vote for her!

Here's the link to her blog: big red EP

Here's the link to vote for her: Best LDS Female Solo Blogger of 2010